jan 1, 1724 - St. John Passion BWV 245

Description:

a Passion or oratorio; the older of the surviving Passions by Bach. It was written during Bach's first year as director of church music in Leipzig and was first performed on April 7, 1724, at Good Friday Vespers at the St. Nicholas Church.

It is like an opera in its drama (compare to St. Matthew Passion).

The Passion oratorios were written for church use, for Good Friday, in the 1720s.
a. They are semi-dramatic works with character roles, such as the Evangelist, and
the chorus often acts as the “crowd.”
b. Reflective arias interrupt the action (which takes place in recitatives).

The Passions are the closest pieces to opera that Bach wrote.

Cursed Questions
1. When nineteenth-century performers resurrected Bach’s vocal music, they did so in a
context far removed from that in which it was created.
2. One obvious issue in the St. John Passion text is the way the Jews were treated.

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